St. Louis Cardinals: Former Negro Leaguer Samuel Taylor to throw out first pitch in St. Louis
St. Louis Cardinals and John Gibson
According to front-office executive Bing Devine, Cardinals owner Fred Saigh, who owned the team from 1947 to 1953, refused to sign black players. Many restaurants and stores in St. Louis refused to serve black customers in the 1950s and their far-reaching radio network cultivated white Southern fans. Sportsman’s Park, the home of the Cardinals from 1953 to 1966, was the last in the majors to abolish segregated seating.
The St. Louis Cardinals were purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 1953, and August A. Busch, Jr. instructed his front office to find a black player. It wasn’t that Busch was a strong believer in civil rights, though. It was all about the Benjamins. Busch had beer to sell, and he didn’t care what race, creed or color the person was. If they had money to spend, Busch had beer to sell them.
Quincy Trouppe, a veteran Negro League scout hired by the Cardinals, signed more than a dozen black players, including Tom Alston. In 1953, Alston played for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.
He drove in 101 runs in 180 games while hitting .297/.353/.446. After the season, he played winter ball in Mexico. The Cardinals purchased his contract from the Padres for $100,000 and four players. That made him the most expensive black player signed at the time.
Busch made the signing of Alston a much-publicized event by renting a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Hollywood and traveling to Hollywood for the contract signing. Budweiser and caviar were served to the attendees. Alston remembers, “The only blacks in the room were me and the valet who served the beer.”
Busch announced that the team had done extensive research to find the very best players they could find, including Alston. He said, “Our scouts, manager Eddie Stanky, and everyone on our staff is high on him. Now that I have met Alston in person and visited with him today, I’m more satisfied than ever that the Cardinals and all St. Louis will be proud of him.”
Unfortunately, Alston didn’t live up to the hype. He played 66 games and hit .246/.317/.369, for a 79 wRC+, making him 21 percent below average on offense after league and ballpark effects were taken into account. The Cardinals sent him down to Triple-A Rochester at the end of June. Over the next three years, he had just 28 plate appearances with the Cardinals.